Earlier today the Atlanta Falcons signed defensive tackle Grady Jarrett to a three year extension worth up to fifty-one million dollars with thirty-four and a half million dollars guaranteed. This comes as a little bit of a surprise to some Atlanta Falcons fans as there were rumors swirling that Grady Jarrett could be traded on draft night, but instead the seven year veteran out of Clemson gets a three extension that will keep the twenty-nine year old under contract with the Falcons through 2025. Jon Chukery was always hopeful that the Falcons would sign him, but he thought there was a good chance that Grady Jarrett would be traded this offseason, but Jon believes this Grady Jarrett extension and the timing of the extension has sent a message that Arthur Blank, Arthur Smith, and Terry Fontenot will turn this Atlanta Falcons team around sooner rather than later.
When talking about the possible future of Grady Jarrett, Jon made a good point saying it “would’ve been very easy to find a trade partner, move him along, save a bunch of money on the cap, and get something back in return for it, and sort of turn the page just like they did with Matt.” Earlier in the offseason Arthur Smith and Terry Fontenot talked about signing and keeping their guys and making that a priority. Smith and Fontenot kept their word on Tuesday by extending Grady Jarrett, and another thing the entire Falcons organization has stuck to is not calling this process a “rebuild”, and even though the Atlanta Falcons probably won’t win the Super Bowl next year, Jon acknowledges the fact that this move shows that the organization truly isn’t treating this time as a rebuild saying “The Falcons and their coaching staff and their front office people want to win.” The Atlanta Falcons are not just throwing in the towel, accepting the fact they will be a bad football team, and blowing up the team to tank. The Grady Jarrett extension shows the Atlanta Falcons, Arthur Blank, Arthur Smith, and Terry Fontenot are not only building this team up through the draft, but also bringing back their core pieces like Grady Jarrett that makes their football team better and helps them be a competitive football tea, right now.
On top of all of that, bringing back Grady Jarrett also brings a veteran voice and leader to help guide, mentor, and groom a defense that has a lot of young pieces in A.J. Terrell, Marlon Davidson, Ta'quon Graham, Mykal Walker, Richie Grant, Darren Hall, Adetokunbo Ogundeji, Avery Williams, and just added more young pieces in the draft in Arnold Ebiketie, Troy Andersen, and DeAngelo Malone. Again, the Atlanta Falcons most likely aren’t going to the Super Bowl next year, but it looks like Arthur Blank hired the right guys in Arthur Smith and Terry Fontenot to turn the Atlanta Falcons around sooner rather than later.